Best of 2012: Business in Savannah in 2012: A tale of a port and other things

BiS Connect

Today, we’re going to break away from our usual format in BiS. Instead of a cover story on a local business or issue and profiles of a Savannah executive and a business, we’re going to offer a summary of some of the business stories that have been making news during 2012.

High on the list, of course, is the ongoing saga of efforts to deepen the Savannah River to prepare the Port of Savannah for bigger ships that will be making their way through the Suez Canal after 2014. At this point, the project has what amounts to the official goahead from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies.

The remaining challenge is to come up with the money to pay for the $652 million project

As significant as it is, the port, of course, is only part of the year’s local business story.

Gulfstream Aerospace continues to be an economic driver with an ongoing expansion project, certification of its G650 aircraft and a significant backlog of orders for new planes.

Looking ahead, there was positive news from the quarterly Economic Monitor from Michael Toma at Armstrong Atlantic State University that forecasts continued improvement for the local economy through the middle of 2013.

Even the area’s community banks are on the uptick after going through four difficult years. Their latest financial reports reflect the best news they’ve had for a while, and they’re positioned to regain significant strength in the coming year.

With those elements in mind, here’s a sampling of what Savannah’s business news brought us in 2012.